New Century Version NCV
Good News Translation GNT
1 These are the words that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah about the time when there was no rain:
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The Lord said to me concerning the drought,
2 "The nation of Judah cries as if someone has died, and her cities are very sad. They are distressed over the land. A cry goes up to God from Jerusalem.
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"Judah is in mourning; its cities are dying, its people lie on the ground in sorrow, and Jerusalem cries out for help.
3 The important men send their servants to get water. They go to the wells, but they find no water. So they return with empty jars. They are ashamed and embarrassed and cover their heads in shame.
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The rich people send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; they come back with their jars empty. Discouraged and confused, they hide their faces.
4 The ground is dry and cracked open, because no rain falls on the land. The farmers are upset and sad, so they cover their heads in shame.
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Because there is no rain and the ground is dried up, the farmers are sick at heart; they hide their faces.
5 Even the mother deer in the field leaves her newborn fawn to die, because there is no grass.
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In the field the mother deer abandons her newborn fawn because there is no grass.
6 Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills and sniff the wind like wild dogs. But their eyes go blind, because there is no food."
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The wild donkeys stand on the hilltops and pant for breath like jackals; their eyesight fails them because they have no food.
7 We know that we suffer because of our sins. Lord, do something to help us for the good of your name. We have left you many times; we have sinned against you.
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My people cry out to me, "Even though our sins accuse us, help us, Lord, as you have promised. We have turned away from you many times; we have sinned against you.
8 God, the Hope of Israel, you have saved Israel in times of trouble. Why are you like a stranger in the land, or like a traveler who only stays one night?
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You are Israel's only hope; you are the one who saves us from disaster. Why are you like a stranger in our land, like a traveler who stays for only one night?
9 Why are you like someone who has been attacked by surprise, like a warrior who is not able to save anyone? But you are among us, Lord, and we are called by your name so don't leave us without help!
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Why are you like someone taken by surprise, like a soldier powerless to help? Surely, Lord, you are with us! We are your people; do not abandon us.' "
10 This is what the Lord says about the people of Judah: "They really love to wander from me; they don't stop themselves from leaving me. So now the Lord will not accept them. He will now remember the evil they do and will punish them for their sins."
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The Lord says about these people, "They love to run away from me, and they will not control themselves. So I am not pleased with them. I will remember the wrongs they have done and punish them because of their sins."
11 Then the Lord said, "Don't pray for good things to happen to the people of Judah.
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The Lord said to me, "Do not ask me to help these people.
12 Even if they give up eating, I will not listen to their prayers. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy the people of Judah with war, hunger, and terrible diseases."
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Even if they fast, I will not listen to their cry for help; and even if they offer me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not be pleased with them. Instead, I will kill them in war and by starvation and disease."
13 But I said, "Oh, Lord God, the prophets keep telling the people, 'You will not suffer from an enemy's sword or from hunger. I, the Lord, will give you peace in this land.'"
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Then I said, "Sovereign Lord, you know that the prophets are telling the people that there will be no war or starvation, because you have promised, they say, that there will be only peace in our land."
14 Then the Lord said to me, "Those prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They have been prophesying false visions, idolatries, worthless magic, and their own wishful thinking.
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But the Lord replied, "The prophets are telling lies in my name; I did not send them, nor did I give them any orders or speak one word to them. The visions they talk about have not come from me; their predictions are worthless things that they have imagined.
15 So this is what I say about the prophets who are prophesying in my name. I did not send them. They say, 'No enemy will attack this country with swords. There will never be hunger in this land.' So those prophets will die from hunger and from an enemy's sword.
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I, the Lord, tell you what I am going to do to those prophets whom I did not send but who speak in my name and say war and starvation will not strike this land - I will kill them in war and by starvation.
16 And the people to whom the prophets speak will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem. There they will die from hunger and from an enemy's sword. And no one will be there to bury them, or their wives, or their sons, or their daughters. I will punish them.
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The people to whom they have said these things will be killed in the same way. Their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, and there will be no one to bury them. This will happen to all of them - including their wives, their sons, and their daughters. I will make them pay for their wickedness."
17 "Jeremiah, speak this message to the people of Judah: 'Let my eyes be filled with tears night and day, without stopping. My people have received a terrible blow; they have been hurt badly.
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The Lord commanded me to tell the people about my sorrow and to say: "May my eyes flow with tears day and night, may I never stop weeping, for my people are deeply wounded and are badly hurt.
18 If I go into the country, I see people killed by swords. If I go into the city, I see much sickness, because the people have no food. Both the priests and the prophets have been taken to a foreign land.'"
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When I go out in the fields, I see the bodies of men killed in war; when I go into the towns, I see people starving to death. Prophets and priests carry on their work, but they don't know what they are doing."
19 Lord, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah? Why have you hurt us so badly that we cannot be made well again? We hoped for peace, but nothing good has come. We looked for a time of healing, but only terror came.
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Lord, have you completely rejected Judah? Do you hate the people of Zion? Why have you hurt us so badly that we cannot be healed? We looked for peace, but nothing good happened; we hoped for healing, but terror came instead.
20 Lord, we admit that we are wicked and that our ancestors did evil things. We have sinned against you.
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We have sinned against you, Lord; we confess our own sins and the sins of our ancestors.
21 For your sake, do not hate us. Do not take away the honor from your glorious throne. Remember your agreement with us, and do not break it.
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Remember your promises and do not despise us; do not bring disgrace on Jerusalem, the place of your glorious throne. Do not break the covenant you made with us.
22 Do foreign idols have the power to bring rain? Does the sky itself have the power to send down showers? No, it is you, Lord our God. You are our only hope, because you are the one who made all these things.
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None of the idols of the nations can send rain; the sky by itself cannot make showers fall. We have put our hope in you, O Lord our God, because you are the one who does these things.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.